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This was my first attempt at this recipe, and it was sooo good (Is the cook allowed to say that?) Well, I think this soup is actually one of my favorite dishes I’ve made so far! I found a recipe on instagram, and had to try it. It was made without any of the additional things I added to it after the soup had been made (mushroom, chicken, cauliflower, etc) – to me just plain soup is not filling enough but YOU should cook it however YOU want it.

And without further adieu.. The recipe!

Ingredients:

– 4 Tomatoes

– 1/2 Onion

– 1 Red Pepper

– Garlic clove

– 1 cup vegetable broth (or chicken, your choice)

– 1 cup coconut milk (your choice of milk – optional*)

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If you want more than just a plain (but still yummy) soup:

– 1/2 mushroom

– Chicken Breast

– 1 cup cauflower

– 1 diced tomato

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 F (or 175 c)

2) Dice the onion, red pepper, garlic, (3) tomatoes.

3) Line a baking dish with aluminum foil for easy clean up, and put the above ingredients in the dish.

4) Add a few dashes of dried herbs to the mix; whatever you have and like: I did paprika, italian herbs, oregano, basil, and parsley.

5) Bake for 20-25 minutes

6) Scoop your now roasted vegetables into your blender or food processor (until you get a texture you’re happy with)

7) Combine 1 cup broth, with the vegetables. *If desired, add the coconut milk now. I added it because it just made it smooth, and creamy, and lessened the kick of the paprika* and bring to a boil. Stir often!

8) You can either stop now, or continue to add like I did. I just boiled cauliflower, diced 1 tomato, sauteed the mushroom, and shredded a left over chicken breast – then topped with a little goat cheese.

Last night I must’ve known that today was going to be a hectic, long day. I say this because I told myself, make a crock-pot dinner tomorrow morning before work – and I am SO thankful I did. I got this recipe from someone I follow on instagram – and her website is actually: http://paleonadime.blogspot.com. I tweaked the recipe a bit, and am really happy with how it turned out. However, I did add corn which is not paleo; therefor this version is paleoish! 😛

Recipe:

1 lb chicken breast (diced or shredded – your preference)

1.5 cups carrots (I sliced full carrots but you could use baby carrots)

1 diced sweet potato

4 cloves minced garlic

1 diced onion

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 – 3/4 cup hot sauce (Use as little or as much as you like depending on your preference)

1 can(15 0z)/cup diced tomato

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce

1 can (15 oz) white kidney beans

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp paprika

Salt / Pepper to taste

Mix all of these together in your crock pot; cook on low for 8-10 hours, or high for 4-6 hours.

I actually cooked mine on low for 6 hours and it was fully cooked & the veggies were soft.

Keep in mind that if you don’t like some of the veggies or other ingredients in here – you can either A) substitute ingredients OR B) simply not include them. The original recipe called for 2 ribs of celery, sliced. However, I don’t like celery so I omitted it. One of my favorite parts of cooking is tweaking the recipe to make it a little different each time – so don’t be afraid to alter recipes and try new things!!

Only a few short months ago, in May 2013, I decided it was time for a change. I’ve always been relatively active, ate fairly healthy, and have been “skinny.” However, one day it just hit me (quite possibly while I was dunking chips ahoy in a glass of milk) that I could be living life much, much healthier. And therefor much happier as well.

I never paid all that much attention to what I was eating: never taking into consideration certainly not the calories, nor the ingredients – and definitely not the serving sizes. On random occasions I would go on those “health kicks.” You know, we’ve all been there: “Oh, I’m going to start working out and eating healthy” Perhaps for a day or so you eat “healthy” and maybe even work out some. Only for a few days to pass and you’re back in the cookie jar, sitting on your bum watching How I Met Your Mother.

Well, here I am 4 months later and I’m here to say that it is possible to make the change! You’re more than capable of eating healthy, exercising on a regular basis all while not wrecking your budget, maintaining your work/school life, and even your social life.